FAQs

List of Questions in this FAQ:

1. How does the change from GEC to GEF affect me?
2. What do I need to do?
3. What goes into my syllabus?
   
4. What is the timeline for transition?
5. How do I know which GEF area my course is in?
   
6. Why is WVU using the AAC&U's LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes?
7. How do we approach GEF actions if there multiple sections to one course?
8. C an I change the GEF area that my course has been assigned?
9. Can I change the LEAP Essential Learning Outcome that I chose for my course?
10. Can I (and how do I) add my course to the GEF?
11. Can I (and how do I) remove my course from the GEF?
12. How do I submit my course change request in CIM?
13. What happens after I submit something in CIM?
    
14. Do I have to go to one of the TLC workshops?

How does the change from GEC to GEF affect me?

• Advisors: The changes will affect how you advise students, as the requirements to complete the GEF are different from the GEC. Please see the advising coordinator for your unit or college, as well as the information put out by WVU’s Advising Council.
• Instructors: If you teach a course or courses in the new GEF, you will be asked to make a course change in CIM formally transitioning the course from the GEC to the GEF (see the Resource Center for a full description on how to submit your course change in CIM). Among the information you will enter into CIM will be the selection of one LEAP Essential Learning Outcome to facilitate your course's assessment within the GEF Assessment Plan. Integrating the Learning Outcome into your course does not mean revising your course substantially or even at all. Nor does participation in the GEF assessment plan equate to a substantial commitment of time or energy. The Teaching and Learning Commons will host workshops beginning in the spring of 2017 which will address what instructors need to do to get their courses through CIM approval and begin introducing the assessment plan as well. The previous practice of five-year syllabus audits will be replaced by participation in the GEF Assessment Plan.

What do I need to do?

• Advisors: Beginning in fall 2016, all students automatically fall under the new GEF. All students and advisors should use Degreeworks (including the “what if” options) to decide on what is the best path forward.

• Instructors: If you teach a course that is currently in the GEC, it has already been transferred into the GEF with your chairperson’s approval. Next, your department will be notified when it has the opportunity to work with facilitators from the Faculty Senate GEF Committee as well as teaching and assessment consultants from WVU’s Teaching and Learning Commons to ensure that your formal transition from the GEC to the GEF via the CIM course change process is expedited; faculty who wish to proceed through the CIM process on their own may do so using the Resource Center as a guide for submitting the course change in CIM. There are also a few areas in your course syllabi that should be reviewed to bring it into alignment with GEF standards; see immediately below.

What goes into my syllabus?

• Course and section syllabi for all GEF courses should include a simple alignment chart that shows the following:

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What is the timeline for the transition?

• Beginning in the Spring 2017 semester, the Senate GEF Committee will work with faculty teaching GEF courses to bring all courses into alignment with the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes. Departments will be contacted and faculty may participate in a short transition seminar where they can work with WVU’s Teaching and Learning Commons and the Senate GEF Committee.

• Individual faculty may continue to transition their courses both before and after an Area’s deadline for submission. However, courses not submitted through CIM by December 31, 2017 will be removed from the GEF and then have to reapply as a new GEF course to be added back in.

How do I know which GEF area my course is in?

All GEC courses have already been assigned to a corresponding GEF area. List of courses and their areas.

Why is WVU using the AAC&U's LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes?

• In the interest of giving every WVU student a liberal education as defined by the AACU’s Liberal Education & America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative, WVU has chosen to use the AACU LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes as part of the General Education Foundations (GEF). The LEAP initiative provides the GEF with a nationally recognized structure for ensuring the delivery of foundational skills and knowledge needed by every college graduate.
• Using the LEAP outcomes also allows WVU to collaborate on all aspects of its general education program with all of the other AAC&U institutions using the LEAP outcomes and use the AAC&U's vast network of instructional and assessment resources.
  

How do we approach GEF actions if there are multiple sections to one course?

• If there are multiple instructors of the same GEF course, all instructors have to agree on one and only one LEAP Essential Learning Outcome that is shared among all the sections. Different versions of the course can approach how they meet their particular learning objective associated with the LEAP Essential Learning Outcome in different ways, but all versions of the course (at all campuses and in all modalities) must all agree. However, only one faculty member has to submit through the CIM process. Consistency of learning outcomes is an important factor in ensuring the validity and reliability of assessment data.

Can I change the GEF area that my course has been assigned?

• Yes. While your course has already been assigned a GEF area with the intent that there was balance between and alignment within the GEF areas, you are permitted to submit a course change request in CIM proposing a new GEF area for the course so long as your course has already been through the GEC-to-GEF transition process in CIM. Once your course has been reviewed and approved by the Faculty Senate GEF Committee, you may submit another course change request in CIM. Select "Adding/changing GEF on existing courses" from the as the Change Type in CIM.
• The only fields you will need to then alter will be the field identifying which GEF area you now want your course to be aligned with and then the first text box after that which reads "Please explain why the course and content fits within the GEF Area that you have proposed."
• You do NOT need to submit a new syllabus with this kind of course change request.

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Can I change the LEAP Essential Learning Outcome that I chose for my course?

• Yes. However, this is a much more substantial course change request than changing GEF Areas and will require you to re-submit most of your course's information in CIM. Select "Adding/changing GEF on existing courses" from the as the Change Type in CIM.

• Then, once you select the GEF area that your course is currently assigned, you will then need to re-submit all but the first of the next four text boxes; these are the text boxes in which you explain alignment between course learning outcomes and the LEAP Essential Learning Outcome, the explanation of assessment for the LEAP Essential Learning Outcome, and how you will communicate the relevance of the new LEAP Essential Learning Outcome to students.
  
• You will also need to re-submit a new syllabus with the appropriate changes to the alignment chart shown above.

Can I (and how do I) add my course to the GEF?

• Yes. Use the Step-by-step guide for submitting GEC-to-GEF course change request in CIM to do so. However, there is a hold on all new course submissions seeking entrance into the GEF for the 2017-18 academic year.

Can I (and how do I) remove my course from the GEF?

• Yes. Select "Adding/changing GEF on existing courses" from the as the Change Type in CIM. Then, in the area which identifies which GEF Area the course is in, simply make sure all the boxes are unchecked and then submit the changes. No additional information or submission of materials is needed.

How do I submit my course change request in CIM?

• The Step-by-step guide for submitting GEC-to-GEF course change request in CIM is a detailed, step-by-step guide and several supporting documents for helping faculty and departments go through the submission process on their own at the time of their choosing; it is equally valid for existing GEF courses that are transitioning from the GEC to the GEF in CIM as well as new courses seeking entrance into the GEF.
  

• The timeline for transition (seen above) has dates for when the Teaching and Learning Commons and the Faculty Senate GEF Committee will begin hosting workshops aimed at facilitating course submissions in CIM.

What happens after I submit something in CIM?

• Once a course change request has been submitted, it enters the appropriate workflow; course change requests that are seeking to transition the course from the GEC to the GEF have an expedited workflow that takes them straight to the Faculty Senate GEF Committee for review. You can follow the progress of your request in CIM.

• If there is an issue with your request, someone from the appropriate body will contact you to request additional clarification or documents.
  
• Once all the appropriate bodies have signed off on your request, you will be notified.

Do I have to go to one of the TLC workshops?

• No. Participation in the TLC workshops is not mandatory. The workshops have been redesigned with the intent of making course submission in CIM clear and to provide participants with a higher probability of expedited approval through the Faculty Senate GEF Committee. Invitations will be sent to relevant departments based upon the timeline for transition (see above) but individual faculty members or departments may proceed through the course submission process at any time using the Resource Center as a guide.